Profiles - About Alumni for March 2008

Featured Alum: Andre Jackson - Attended 1980

Attending Yavapai College in 1980 Andre Jackson was a gifted athlete but did not continue his schooling here. Andre was and still is a very good athlete. He had more than 25 scholarship offers but because of his disability, which was not discovered until 1986, he could not take advantage of these different opportunities. Andre was born into an environment that challenged him; he was born with a handicap and suffers from ADD and dyslexia. He was always under the impression that he is not accepted in society, that people do not take him seriously because he can hardly read and write.

After being discovered in the movie “Major League,” Andre played baseball for the California Angels. This experience changed his life. In 1988, he had the chance to play as an extra in the movie “Major League 1” with Charlie Sheen and Wesley Snipes. Andre did the hitting for Cerrano, the vodoo character in that famous baseball movie. What was very important: he impressed Charlie Sheen. With his help, Andre signed with the California Angels in 1989.

Andre later went to Australia and New Zealand to play professional baseball there. He discovered his love for music and started to plan a professional career in that business. To this very day he plays baseball, the last two seasons (2006 and 2007) for the Goeppingen Green Sox in Germany. Andre’s message is very simple: he wants to stand for something in his life and he has always tried to contribute to society even though he felt like the outcast. Andre wants to encourage people, especially people with disabilities, to live their dreams and to stand for something. We hope to bring him back to campus to share his amazing success story. He certainly is an inspiration to those with handicaps.

In 2003, he was a contestant on American Idol. Andre did not make it on the show but he impressed Antonio Brown Production with his talent and his energy. They decided to sponsor him. “The Player” went back into the studio in Atlanta last month in order to record with Seth Warren from Coalition Recordings Inc. He is also signed to that new and hot label! The music that can be heard on Myspace is not finished yet but it gives an idea of the style and the slamming beat.

Andre continues to achieve his goals, to which he is extremely dedicated. He is not only trying to release his music, but he continues as an athlete in Germany. Andre brings out the best in people with his huge heart, warm smile and outstanding charisma. Read more about this amazing alum by visiting his website at www.myspace.com/andretheplayerjackson.

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Pavla Pletková – Athlete and Electrical Engineer (2003-2005)

Pavla Pletková - Associate of Science, focus in electrical engineering.

Pavla writes to us: I currently play professional basketball in Germany, DBBL Division 2-North, for TSV Quakenbrueck, in Quakenbrueck, Germany. I left Yavapai for a basketball scholarship to IPFW in Fort Wayne, IN and played 2 more years of D1-NCAA collegiate basketball, graduating from Purdue University with a bachelor’s in electrical engineering and a minor in mathematics. I also presided as Vice President of IPFW’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, and am currently an active Region IV alumni member. I am also an INROADS alumna from the Great Lakes Region, having worked two summers for the Carrier Corporation, a subsidiary of United Technologies, as an industrial quality engineer and as an electrical and software engineer in advanced manufacturing. I look to continue spending my summers working as an engineer in the states as well as continuing my career as a basketball player in the coming years.

One of the first and most significant memories of Yavapai College came immediately after arriving at Yavapai when we beat Central at home in our home opener, on a buzzer beater by Chelsea Dermeyer. It was just a special basketball memory that I will always have. Meeting two of my best friends in the world, Tarryn Montgomery, and Charity Renfro has changed my life significantly. They are lifelong teammates, friends, and sisters to me, and if it were not for YC, I would have never met them. I also still have a close bond with Katie Schrader, and still talk to several other Yavapai teammates because of the bond we developed while playing there.

I also had an excellent time participating in the Honors Program, which allowed me to travel with my classmates to Prague, CZ, which is my birthplace. This was another group of people that I had a great bond with, including a great relationship that I currently have with Dr. Kathryn Reisdorfer, one of my favorite and most influential teachers.

Coach Cliff was the first coach I had that really took a genuine interest in making me a better player and I still quote him to this day with some of the quirky things he used to say to us. He was one of the best coaches I have ever had, and I will always remember my playing days at YC. Dr. Reisdorfer helped me grow as a person but, like all great teachers, was also a great listener. Her life story, knowledge, and big heart have significantly changed my views of the world and given me perspective.

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Bill Monroe - News Reporter, KPPV/KQNA

“On the Air”

“I had originally planned to study at Arizona State University, but after one of my high school teachers told me I would “get swallowed up,” I started looking at schools of smaller size. YC’s small class sizes allowed me to get individual attention. For example, when I was in a Creative Writing class with only a few people, it presented the opportunity to have my work reviewed more frequently.

Being involved with the college paper served as a springboard to the job I am currently doing. In fact, the editor of the paper at the time suggested I go for an interview when the radio station called looking for someone. Twelve years later, here I am.

Yavapai College is a good school that allows individual attention to be paid to its ever-growing population. And it’s more affordable than going to a university!”

Bill Monroe, Yavapai College Journalism/Telecommunications graduate
Senior Correspondent
KPPV/KQNA Arizona’s Hometown Radio Group

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